Travel with CPAP and distilled water supply

The following question is often asked by CPAP users who travel abroad, especially on long distances:

What do I do if I am going on a 3 week China cruise vacation?

My concern is not being able to take a 3-week supply of distilled or demineralized water.

Is there a safe substitute? What do I do if hotels or cruise ships cannot provide this.

Thanks!

Answer

Good question about problems with CPAP traveling. I know that is not easy to find a distilled or demineralized water in airports, or even in your traveling area.

When I travel, I have always used regular bottled drinking water and not worried about using distilled water. I haven't had any problems with this so far and I know that other sleep apnea patients do the same.

If you use regular bottled water while traveling it is not going to damage your humidifier or CPAP. But if you are concerned, clean it immediately when you come home.

I found when I was new to CPAP that I was diligent to follow every guideline and cleaned everything like a clock. After awhile, I became less obsessive about being perfect in maintenance schedule, and have suffered no side effects in not using distilled water at any cost.

Another tip is to take a small 14 oz nalgene bottle which you can fill it with distilled water, tighten the lid and put it in your checked baggage. It is enough water to last at least 2 days - depends on humidity where you are going.

These nalgene bottles are tough and the lids can really be cranked on tight. You will never have a problem with leaking or breakage.

With this you have at least a 2 day supply which gives you time to see if there is a local place where you can get another distilled or demineralized water for your CPAP machine. I've also found that some hotels will have it or get it for you.

Good luck!

If you have other experiences and opinions regarding this problem, please comment below.